Come Rain Or Shine
by ArwenTurner
Summary: Harry is depressed after Sirius' death. Hermione writes him a letter that will change their relationship forever. Mainly from Hermionie's POV, but it changes...alot. (A 4 chapter oneshot :P) I don't know how to summarise this one better...read and see!
1. Returning to Normality

** Come Rain Or Shine.**  
  
_AN...Ok, this was meant to be a one-shot, but it kinda developed into something bigger...like 4 chapters long. Enjoy! (It starts straight at the beginning of 6th year...as you'll see...)_  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the common room with their trunks and looked around. It was weird, coming back to reality when Sirius was gone. Harry's eyes were drawn to the fire, which was blazing away in the corner. He remembered Sirius' face in it, only a handful of months previously. Hermione put her hand on his shoulder, which he shrugged off and progressed to the boy's dorms. Hermione looked at Ron and half-smiled, before making her way to her own dorm. Ron sighed and had one last scan around the common room, before dragging his trunk and following Harry.  
  
When he reached the dorm, Harry had dumped his trunk at the door and collapsed on his bed. Ron set his own trunk down at the foot of his own bed and dragged Harry's trunk to his bed. He sat on the edge of Harry's bed.  
  
"Harry." Ron started, very unsure at what to say. He wished Hermione were here, she'd know what to say.  
  
"Leave it, Ron." Harry spat.  
  
"I'm just trying to..."   
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE." Harry shouted.  
  
Just then, Dean and Seamus came in, laughing. They stopped dead when they saw Ron and Harry.  
  
"Hey Guys." Dean said, uneasy.  
  
"Hey." Ron said.  
  
They busied themselves with sorting their stuff out, and then scurried out to the common room. Ron was just as tired as Harry. Neither had slept much over the summer. Harry had spent the summer at Privet Drive, as usual, but spent the last two weeks with Ron, as, due to a bonus at work, Vernon had taken Petunia and Dudley to France for a holiday. Harry hadn't had more than a few hours sleep most nights, and his constant tossing and turning and getting up and walking around had kept Ron awake too. Ron, although upset about Sirius' death, was much more worried about Harry. For Harry was much closer to Sirius than either he or Hermione, and Sirius was also the only family Harry had. They had tried to comfort him, but he was shutting everyone out.  
  
Late that night, Ron could hear Harry sobbing into his pillow, a sound he had heard all too many a night. He knew there was nothing he could do but lay there and listen. It hurt him to hear him cry, and know that there was nothing that he could do to help.  
  
The next morning, Sunday, Ron woke and dressed. Harry was asleep. He debated whether to wake him for breakfast, but he decided that it was better to let him sleep while he could. He wandered sullenly into the common room, where Hermione was sitting by the fire, staring into it, deep in thought.  
  
"Hey." He said, sitting down beside her.  
  
"Morning." She replied. "Where's Harry?"  
  
"Asleep. I didn't want to wake him." Ron explained, as they sat and watched the flames dance in the fireplace. "Come on, breakfast will be up soon." He added, and they clambered through the portrait hole and made their way down to the Great Hall.  
  
They found their seats next to Fred, George and Ginny, and they all said a quiet hello to each other.  
  
"How's Harry?" Fred and George asked together.  
  
"Asleep." Ron replied, staring at all the food before them. He wasn't hungry, he hadn't been much in the mood for food for a long time, and, by the look on Hermione's face, she felt the same. She nibbled on some toast while Ron took a small strip of bacon.  
  
After breakfast, Ron, Hermione and Ginny went back to the common room: Fred and George said they had to send an owl to their mother.  
  
As they climbed back through the portrait hole, Ron was surprised to see Harry sitting in the big red chairs by the fireplace.  
  
"Hey, Harry." He said, approaching him.  
  
Harry didn't reply, he was staring into the depths of the fire, as though willing Sirius' head to pop up.  
  
"Do you want to go and get some breakfast? There's still time...?" Hermione offered.  
  
"No." He cut in sharply. A few seconds later, a single tear rolled down his cheek.  
  
Hermione walked over to him and put her arms around him, hating to see him cry. He batted her away.  
  
"Just...just leave me alone." He said, feebly this time. Hermione only strengthened her hug. "I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" He yelled and stood up, making for the portrait hole. Hermione looked a bit startled at him shouting at her for a second, but started after him as he left, but Ron put his hand on her arm, stopping her.  
  
"Give him some time."  
  
Hermione nodded in silent agreement. The three of them sat in the common room for about an hour, in silence, until Hermione spoke.  
  
"I can't take it anymore, I'm going to see him." She said.  
  
"Well...ok. Just...don't take it personal when he lashes out at you."  
  
"I know, I know." She said, giving him a half-hearted smile and walking out.  
  
She wandered out into the grounds. It was a warm end-of-summer's day. She looked about and it wasn't long before she spotted him sitting under a tree by the lake. She sighed and walked over to him. She had other things on her mind also. Just before...all the trouble of last year, she realised something new...she realised she loved Harry. She had planned on telling him this over the summer, but, of course, after Sirius' death, it just hadn't been practical. He needed her as a friend, and she was glad to be there for him, but there was still the feeling in her heart, which she had tried to suppress, for Harry's sake.  
  
She came closer to him. He was sitting with his back to the tree, staring out to the water, which was shimmering in the morning sun. She sat down beside him. He didn't do anything to acknowledge her presence, but neither did he yell at her, or push her away. She simply sat with him, staring out into the waters for what seemed like forever. Suddenly, without warning, he put his head in his hands and sobbed, then threw his arms around Hermione, and she done the same. He hugged her close, like she was the only person in the world who was his friend, and sobbed into her hair. Neither spoke as they sat and hugged, Hermione was close to tears too, but she held them back, she had to stay strong for Harry. After an eternity, he pulled away from her and wiped his cheeks. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He sniffed, wiping his face on a tissue she gave him.   
  
"Come on." She smiled, taking his arm and they walked back up to the castle together. 


	2. A Kiss under the stars

** Chapter 2.**  
  
The next week passed pretty much the same. Harry floated through the school day, just managing to do the work he was set. Dumbledore had sent a notice round to all the Proffessors to excuse Harry if his work was in poor performance, which they all sympathised with...even Snape wasn't as hard on Harry in Potions. Nearly all of the students were nice to Harry, or just gave him his space, but there were still a few who believed Sirius to be guilty, even though his innocence had been proved, there had even been an article in the Daily Prophet stating his innocence. This minority always taunted Harry. During classes, they would make comments..."Yeah, and Harry killed the mass-murderer, Sirius Black!"......"Oh, of course Harry Potter can do THAT, Professor...he killed Black!"..."It's a shame, really, that he was his godfather, but thankfully the murderous ways passed to Harry and allowed him to kill him!" One Hufflepuff even said at the start of one class, thankfully, Harry hadn't arrived at that point. Of course, Hermione, Ron, McGonnagall, and everyone else with half a brain told Harry to ignore them, but he just couldn't. He felt like screaming at them that he didn't kill him, and that Sirius wasn't a murderer...but he just couldn't find the energy for a debate.   
  
On Thursday afternoon, after a particularly harsh Potions lesson, Harry had run straight to the Gryffindor boy's dormitories and into his bed, drawing the curtains round for privacy. When Ron came in to dump his schoolbag, he heard his sobs. He opened the corner of the curtain to speak to him, but he was yelled at again. He went down to the common room where Hermione was waiting for him.  
  
"How is he?" She asked, although she had an idea what the answer would be.  
  
"He's crying again, Hermione. It's those idiots...oh they make me so mad. Can they not see what they're doing to him? They're not making it any easier on him!" He sighed.  
  
Hermione looked at Ron, then looked at the doors to the boy's dorms. They angered her too, but the most upsetting thing to her was seeing Harry upset. She ran off to the girl's dorms. Ron watched her go.   
  
She ran into the empty dorm and onto her bed, drawing her own curtains. She hugged her knees and wept. "Oh Harry." She whispered to herself. She had tried to ignore it, but she couldn't. She had tried to ignore the fact that she loved him. Then an idea came into her head. Nothing else was working....why not? It was worth a shot, she decided, and leapt out of bed to rifle through her bag for a quill, ink, and some parchment. She grabbed them and brought them into her bed, closing the curtains once more.  
  
After quite a while, she reappeared from behind the red curtain. Her bed was surrounded by rolled up bits of parchment, but she held The One in her hands. She folded it once and placed it on her bedside table, and put away the ink, quill and spare parchment back into her schoolbag. She sat back on her bed, nerves knotting in her stomach. The door opened, and her head darted to it, Lavender came in.  
  
"Hey Hermione!" She smiled. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm ok." She lied, grinning.  
  
"What's with you?" Lavender asked, sitting on the side of her bed.  
  
"Oh nothing!" Hermione said.  
  
"Fine, have it your way!" Lavender smiled at her and went to her own bed, tidying away her schoolbooks.  
  
---  
  
A few hours later, Hermione decided she had to move. She stood up sharply and lifted the note.  
  
"Where are you off too?" Lavender asked, from behind her magazine.  
  
"Oh, nowhere!" She beamed. Lavender just laughed.  
  
"Okay then! Have fun!" She giggled and watched Hermione leave, shutting the door behind her.  
  
In the common room, she saw Ron sitting doing the Transfiguration homework McGonnagall had set them that morning. She made a mental note to get that started tomorrow.  
  
"Hey...um...where's Harry?" She asked.  
  
"He went up to the astronomy tower...he said he needed some air." Ron said.  
  
"Thanks!" She said, and ran out before Ron could ask any questions. She walked up to the astronomy tower, trying to keep her cool. She saw him, sitting on the stone ground, staring up at the sky.  
  
"Hey." She whispered, coming closer.  
  
"Hi." He answered, not turning his head. "Come sit with me." He said.  
  
She moved over, making sure the note was tucked away in her robes, and sat down beside him.  
  
"It's so peaceful...so beautiful....isn't it? All the stars looking down on you...making you feel safe." He said, sighing.  
  
"Yeah. It is." She answered, a little shocked...that was the most she had heard him speak in a long time.  
  
Harry turned to face her, and smiled at her. A real, genuine smile that she had not seen since before Sirius died. He looked into her eyes and she melted inside. She was just about to give him the note and run...when she noticed his face advancing on hers...and his lips neared hers...her breath caught in her throat. Harry was going to kiss her! She pulled away, in shock.   
  
"I...I'm sorry...I..." Harry started. Hermione was frozen to the spot. Why had she done that? She stumbled to her feet and ran, all the way back to the girl's dorms, where she threw herself onto her bed and sobbed. Lavender came rushing over to her.  
  
"Hey, what's up? Come on, Hermione! Shhh." She said, hugging her.  
  
"I'm so stupid...I'm so stupid!" She sobbed into Lavender's shoulder.  
  
"Come on, tell me what's up." She said.  
  
"I...oh god. This is going to sound so stupid. I...well...I love Harry..." She looked at Lavender, who was nodding.  
  
"What?" Hermione asked, staring at her.  
  
"Oh come on, Hermione! It's been obvious for so long! So...go on..what happened?"  
  
"I...I..." She looked at her, shocked. "Has it really been that obvious?"  
  
"Yes. Now tell me more!"  
  
"Right, well...he...I had this whole plan...but I went up to talk to him...and it was beautiful, watching the stars together...and he..he..he tried to kiss me..."  
  
"Well, that's perfect, right?" Lavender said, confused.  
  
"No, but I...I pulled away, Lavender, then I ran right back here."  
  
"Oh. That was a stupid thing to do."  
  
"Yeah, thanks." Hermione said, staring at her feet.  
  
"Well...it's not too late! You now know he likes you too!"  
  
"Yeah, but I may have just ruined everything...and now it's going to be awkward."  
  
"It doesn't have to be! I could help?"  
  
"No, I need to do this alone. Thanks, though." Hermione smiled at her, and hugged her.  
  
"Anytime." Lavender hugged her back. "Anytime." 


	3. A note by the feet

** Chapter 3.**  
  
Harry had walked back to his own dorm not long after Hermione had left him, and flopped down on his bed, head in hands.  
  
"I'm such an idiot." He said.  
  
"What happened?" Ron asked, walking over and sitting beside him. Dean and Seamus were still in the common room.  
  
"I...I...oh god Ron. I've just messed everything up."  
  
"How?" He asked, confused.  
  
"I...I...oh." He sighed. "I tried to kiss Hermione."  
  
"You did WHAT?" Ron asked, shock spreading over his face.  
  
"Yeah. Shut up. And...and she just left. Oh god, she's never going to speak to me again."  
  
"You...you never know. She...she might have had to...go somewhere?" Ron attempted, and failed.  
  
"Yeah alright, I know I'm an idiot. Don't make me feel worse. She didn't have an excuse. I freaked her out!" He said, and fell back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"I...I love her, Ron."  
  
"Tell her that then!"  
  
"I just tried to kiss her, I think that's enough."  
  
"Yeah, a kiss is a kiss...love's different. I think you should tell her, mate!"  
  
"Nah, I've ruined it now."  
  
------  
  
Early the next morning, Hermione crept downstairs, where she saw Ron sitting by the fire in his pyjamas and a dressing gown. Perfect. She smiled and walked over to him.  
  
"Morning! How come you're up so early?"  
  
"I dunno." He replied. "Here, what you so happy about?"  
  
"Oh, nothing!" She grinned. "Can you do me a favour?"   
  
"Sure."  
  
"Is Harry still asleep?"  
  
"Ron nodded, a small smile spreading across his face. Hermione ignored it, she had to do this.  
  
"Can you put this beside him? On his bedside cabinet or something?" She said, handing him the folded letter.  
  
"No prob." He said, now grinning wildly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing!" He said, and walked off to the boys dorms with the letter.  
  
He entered the dorm and walked over to Harry's bed. Thankfully, he was still sleeping soundly. Ron looked about for where to put the letter. He put it at the foot of Harry's bed, just below his feet. Deciding he wanted to be here when Harry woke up, he took off his dressing gown and got back into bed, pretending to be asleep. A while later, he heard Harry stretching awake. Smiling to himself, he waited for his moment. On hearing a hearty yawn from Harry, he stretched and swivelled his legs out of bed so he was sitting over the edge. Rubbing his eyes in pretend-sleepiness, he turned to Harry.  
  
"Morning Harry!"  
  
He was replied by a grunt from Harry's bed. Ron couldn't take much more of this! 'Find the letter, find the letter!' he prayed.  
  
Harry scratched his head and sat up. Yawning, he was about to get out of bed, when he noticed something at the bottom of his bed. Picking up the parchment, he twirled it in his hands.   
  
"What's this?" He said, more to himself than anyone else.  
  
"I dunno." Ron's voice replied from the other side of the room. Harry didn't look up to see Ron grinning like an idiot.  
  
Harry opened the note and read, his heart flipping. He immediately leapt out of bed and ran out, leaving the note to flutter to the floor.  
  
Ron watched him leave, disappointed not to get more of a reaction from him. He walked over to Harry's bed and picked up the note from the floor beside it.  
  
'_Harry_,' Hermione's neat handwriting revealed itself.  
  
'_I'm truly sorry for the other night. I don't know what came over me. I hope this hasn't ruined our friendship, but I have to tell you.  
  
Harry...I really have no idea why I did what I did the other night, but I want you to know that I love you. As more than a friend. I don't know if it was because of the beauty of that night, watching the stars...that made you try to kiss me...If you were caught up in the moment...but I hope this doesn't ruin our friendship. I'll still love you so much, as a friend, if you'll let me. I understand that these past few months have been horrible on you, they have been for me too, but it hurts me so much to see you upset.  
  
I hope you know that I will always be there for you, Harry. Even if it is only as a friend. Come rain or shine, I'll always be right there by your side if you just call. Even if it's just for a hug, or a chat...god, I really sound pathetic now, don't I? Cheesy too. This is the hardest letter I've ever had to write. (And I write a lot!)  
  
So, please. I love you so much Harry, and even if you can only let me love you as a friend...please just let me. If you don't feel the same...just remember that I'll always be there by your side as your friend. Come rain or shine.  
  
Love...Hermione x_'  
  
Ron dropped the note on Harry's bed in shock, before returning to his own to get dressed, grinning away. This would be the best thing that could happen to Harry right now, he thought, as he rifled through his trunk for clean clothes.  
  
---  
  
Harry ran down the stairs into the common room, still in his pyjamas. Hermione was there! She was just leaving through the portrait hole, arm around Lavender. He ran up to her.   
  
"Hermione!"  
  
"Harry!" She said, stunned. Then she regained her senses. "I'm sorry...I have to take Lavender to the hospital wing. She's really ill."  
  
Harry looked at Lavender and noticed that she was very pale and had sick all down her nightshirt. He looked at Hermione, who also had patches of sick down her.  
  
"I'm sorry. I...I'll speak to you later, Harry." She said, and helped Lavender through the portrait hole...and they were gone. Harry stared at the space where she had been, all his energy leaving him.  
  
A few minutes later, Ron came bounding down the stairs, grinning like an idiot.   
  
"Hey, Harry!"  
  
"Hey, Ron." Harry replied, a little less enthusiastically.  
  
"SO......any NEWS for me?" Ron said, bounding up and down on the spot, with a child's energy.  
  
"I...I...the letter was from Hermione."  
  
"DUH...and???" He asked.  
  
"She...she...she's taking Lavender to the hospital wing. I didn't have the chance to speak to her."  
  
"Oh." Ron said, all the energy deflating from him like air from a balloon. "Well, you can speak to her later."  
  
"I guess so." Harry replied, and went back upstairs to get dressed.  
  
---  
  
Hermione carried Lavender up to the hospital wing. So many thoughts were playing through her mind. Harry had come to see her...he must have read the letter...but she didn't have the time to figure out what his reaction was. She wanted so much to run to him right now, but she couldn't leave Lavender. They went through the doors of the hospital wing, to be met by Madame Pomfrey.  
  
"Oh, what do we have here?" She asked, taking the sick girl to a bed and sitting her down, putting a bowl in her lap, which she promptly threw up into.  
  
"I..I don't know. She's been throwing up for ages...I...I was in the toilet.." She lied, referring to when she had given Ron the note. "And when I came back, she was throwing up all over the place."  
  
"Well well...looks like a simple stomach bug to me." Madame Pomfrey assessed, looking at her. "I've just the potion for her," she said, rifling through her drawers to find said potion. She managed to find a space inbetween throwing up to give her the potion.   
  
"Now, she wont be sick anymore, but her body needs a few hours to re-adjust to the loss of water and food."  
  
"Okay." Hermione said, unsure whether to go or not. Lavender answered that question for her.  
  
"Oh god, it's going to be so boring in here! Please stay with me, Hermione!"  
  
Hermione looked to Madame Pomfrey, who, unfortunately, nodded. "You can stay with her."  
  
And so Hermione was stuck in the hospital wing, keeping Lavender company, all the while thinking about Harry.   
  
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I know you have to speak to Harry...you can go if you want...?" Lavender offered.  
  
Hermione seriously considered it, but she didn't want to leave Lavender when she was sick. "Nah, it's ok. He's in quidditch practice all day anyway." She said with a sigh.  
  
"Thanks...good luck for later then." Lavender said, lying back onto the pillows of the hospital bed. 


	4. Completions, Endings

** Chapter 4.**  
  
That lunchtime, Hermione left Lavender in the hospital wing and went down to the Great Hall for lunch. She sat down beside Ginny and filled her plate, waiting for Harry and Ron.   
  
"Have you seen Ron and Harry?" She asked Ginny nervously, wringing her hands.  
  
"Um...they're probably caught up at Quidditch practice...you know how it gets." She smiled. "Is everything ok?"  
  
"Um...yeah." Hermione said, giving a half-hearted smile back and stood up, leaving her full plate untouched and went to the library to get started on the Potions homework they had been set the day before.  
  
---  
  
Later that day, Hermione was getting increasingly nervous, as she hadn't seen Harry, or Ron all day. At about 7, she trudged back to the common room. Before she got there, however, she saw the portrait hole open and out emerged...Harry! Her heart lifted at the sight of him. He looked up and their eyes met. Harry ran his hand through his hair and put his hand back into the portrait hole...helping out a moaning Ron.   
  
"It hurts Harry...oooh....ooowww!" He cried.  
  
"Um...Hi, Hermione. Ron hurt his ankle in training, I'm taking him to the hospital wing. Sorry. See you later." He said, and he helped a hobbling Ron towards the hospital wing, leaving Hermione standing there speechless. Was this some sort of a joke? She ran into the common room and up to her dorms, dumped her books and ran up to the astronomy tower, where her and Harry had sat that fateful night. She ran right out into the night air and roared in frustration.  
  
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She yelled at the stars, for having nothing else to yell at. She paced the ground, angry, humiliated....she had come to the conclusion that Harry was embarrassed by the letter, and that's why he had been avoiding her all day, although the sensible part of her brain told her he had sensible excuses.   
  
She sat down on the ground and hugged her knees to her chest and sobbed into them. She loved Harry so much, even though she was humiliated that she had told him. She was convinced she had ruined their friendship, even if they tried to put it behind them, there would still be that awful awkwardness between them...and poor Ron, caught in the middle...she thought about Ron and Lavender too...the only other two people who knew about her feelings for him. She imagined them laughing at her, as she sobbed even harder into her robes.  
  
-----  
  
Harry sat beside Ron's bed, shaking nervously. "Just go to her, Harry! I'll be ok, go! Before it's too late!" He said.  
  
"You sure? Thanks!" Harry said, and leapt up to leave, and nearly collided with Angelina Johnson and the rest of the team.   
  
"You're not going anywhere. Team meeting." She said, pushing him back towards Ron.  
  
"Come on! We've been practicing all day!" Harry protested, looking pleadingly at Ron.  
  
"Yes, practicing. We need to talk now!" Angelina said, pulling chairs over to Ron's bed for everyone.  
  
"But I...I..."  
  
"Something more important to attend to?" She asked, glowering at him.  
  
"God, you're turning out to be just like Wood!" Ron sighed. And Harry was trapped for an hour, as bored as the rest of the team, listening to Angelina drone on about tactics for their match against Slytherin next week.  
  
As soon as he could get free, he ran all the way to the common room, but she wasn't there.   
  
"Ginny." He panted, walking up to her. "Have you seen Hermione?"  
  
"Um...no....sorry, not since Lunch." She said, shrugging. "Is it important?"  
  
"Um...very." He settled, before running back out of the portrait hole. Where would she be? He ran to the library, but there was no one there, save for a few Hufflepuff second years. Then something popped into his head. The astronomy tower. Would she go back there? It's worth a shot, he decided, and ran up.  
  
He turned the corner quietly and saw Hermione sitting in a heap on the floor. It was raining by now, and she was soaked. What hurt him the most was that she was crying. It's funny, he thought. I've hardly thought of Sirius in the last few days...All I've thought about is her...he thought, and he stood there watching her for a few minutes, before advancing closer to her.  
  
"Hermione." He whispered. Her head jerked up and she jumped to her feet.  
  
"Harry...." She breathed, ready to shout at him, but all her anger disintegrated as she stared into his eyes. Her face was soaking with rain and tears. She raised her hand, out of habit, to wipe her cheeks, only for them to be soaked by raindrops as soon as she put her hand back down.  
  
He had no idea what to say. He came closer to her and took her in his arms. He looked into her eyes, which were a little red from crying, and he found the words.  
  
"Come rain or shine." He smiled, and lowered his face to hers and kissed her. At first she was taken aback, but excitement rose in her stomach as she realised what this meant. He loved her back! She smiled to herself and kissed him hungrily back. It felt so perfect, standing in the rain, soaked...in each others arms. She put her arms around his neck and ran her hands through his wet hair....._Perfect._


End file.
